Hikigaya doesn't want to be a force of strength

"Thank you."

"Haha, this is what I should do. And it's okay even if Hikigaya-san asks me to do something else, please use me as much as you want!"

"This……"

Feeling that there was something strange about Kushida's attitude, Hikigaya couldn't help but reveal a subtle expression and quietly distanced himself from the other party.

Next, following Hirata Yosuke's suggestion, Class D quickly organized a team to explore the base.

Considering the dangers in the forest, Hirata formed a team of three people, or at least two people, to explore.

Although Hikigaya wanted to take action alone, he didn't want to be too conspicuous, so he began to try to find teammates.

But his options are limited, there are only the lone rangers in the class.

Horikita Suzune seems to be in a bad state, so she doesn't want to conduct an investigation. Ayanokouji just passes by, and Koenji... is too conspicuous.

After looking around, it seems that Sakura Airi is the only choice.

"Sakura..."

In desperation, Hikigaya came to Sakura Airi.

The girl was originally feeling overwhelmed by the exam and was squatting there trembling. However, when she saw Hikigaya coming to her on his own initiative, she immediately revealed an expression of surprise and excitement.

"Hikigaya-san, is there anything wrong?"

"I'm planning on investigating the stronghold on this island. Do you want to come with me?"

Hikigaya was still a little timid when he asked the question. After all, he didn't think that Sakura Airi, a creature as timid as a hamster, would be willing to do such an adventurous thing with him.

In that case, he might just have to go find Koenji or Ayanokouji... that's too sad.

What he didn't expect was that after hearing his proposal, Sakura Airi nodded without even thinking, "I, I do! Please take me with you!"

Sakura's voice rose a little with excitement.

The surrounding D-class students looked over in confusion.

Hikigaya was surprised by this, but he nodded quickly: "Then let's go together."

Thus, the investigation team was assigned.

Hikigaya and Sakura are together, and the other students also have their own partners. It is worth mentioning that Ayanokouji was forced to be in a group with Koenji after failing to find a good partner for a long time.

It's fun just thinking about these two people working together.

Of course, he actually had to act together with Sakura, and he couldn't imagine how this would turn out.

Just tell the truth.

Hikigaya could sense that Sakura Airi was developing unnecessary feelings for him.

He is not the dull male protagonist in Japanese light novels. Even if others place unnecessary hopes and expectations on him, he will definitely notice it at the first moment.

Therefore, he was very clear that after the last incident in the shopping street, Sakura Airi seemed to have developed a different feeling for him.

This girl must be in love with me.

Although it was extremely narcissistic to think this way, and one could say that he was extremely self-conscious, it was impossible for Hikigaya to just pretend that he was not aware of it, and it was even more impossible for him to be like the protagonists of those romance anime and drag things out until he completely hurt the other person.

What's more, Hikigaya doesn't think that Sakura Airi's feelings for him are true love.

It was just a mysterious fondness for himself who helped him, stimulated by hormones.

It definitely can't be love.

Therefore, the upright teacher Hachiman must try his best to explain this wrong emotion to Sakura, and at the same time, he must draw a clear line between them to eliminate the possibility that the other party really falls in love with him.

This is the gentleness that belongs to Hikigaya Hachiman.

Chapter 240: So this is Ayanokouji’s true face?

Hikigaya and Sakura Airi walked together on the trail in the middle of the forest. Since this island has undergone a lot of artificial modifications, the roads can be said to be very obvious.

Even if he didn't make any memories or marks along the way, he didn't feel like he would get lost.

This is undoubtedly the care given by the school. After all, their goal is to allow students to take exams and train themselves here, rather than really letting students struggle in the primitive jungle and engage in difficult wilderness survival.

To this end, the design of the island has been optimized to the extreme, and it is almost impossible for any student to be in danger of life in the process.

After confirming this, Hikigaya's attitude became relaxed.

He was originally still vigilant and even made some marks on the way here, but he gradually relaxed this action.

Although I still make marks, I only do so specifically when I have traveled a long distance.

During the process, Sakura Airi followed him silently, but the girl looked very restrained, even a little nervous.

Without Hikigaya bringing up any topic, the entire journey was filled with silent silence.

This silence lasted for a very, very long time, so much so that Hikigaya almost suspected that the person following him was not a girl, but a ghost.

It seems that I really don't get along with Sakura.

Although the two people's personalities are very similar in some aspects, and they are both very introverted, it is precisely because they are too similar that it is difficult for them to communicate.

This is how people interact with each other, and it is common for people of the same sex to repel each other.

Moreover, Hikigaya thinks that he is different from Sakura. His loneliness does not come from the influence of external environment, but from his own aloof personality.

Sakura Airi was overwhelmed by external influences and forced into a secluded situation.

These slight differences between the two are also the key reason why they lack common topics.

As expected, I should try to have as little contact with Sakura as possible, and I must make her clearly aware of this and keep a distance from people like me...

As Hikigaya was thinking this, he suddenly saw Sakura Airi next to him who seemed a little tired. She didn't notice the roots of the tree, so she tripped and fell backwards.

"Danger!"

"Wow!"

The girl let out a scream, and her whole body was almost in contact with the ground.

Hikigaya quickly reached out to grab the other person, but failed to support him completely, causing his knees to hit the ground and he almost fell into his arms.

"Are you okay?"

Hikigaya asked with concern as he supported Sakura.

"Nuuu, it's okay. Ah..."

Although Sakura seemed to want to be strong, she couldn't stand up because of her scraped knees.

And for some reason, the other person's face looked very red, as if steam was about to come out of his body, and he sat limply on the spot.

"It looks like he's been badly injured."

Hikigaya frowned as he realized he had walked too far with Sakura.

But there was no other way. In order to test Class A, he had to go to the area he had seen on the ship before. He couldn't give up halfway.

He then said, "Sakura, why don't you stay here and rest. I'll come back to you after I've explored the area ahead."

"Good, good."

Hikigaya's suggestion seemed to make Sakura Airi relieved. She straightened her crooked glasses and adjusted her breathing, gradually recovering from her difficulty breathing, with joy still remaining on her face.

Facing Sakura like this, Hikigaya frowned slightly.

But in the end he said nothing.

It’s not the right time yet. Some things should be told to the other party after you come back.

Hikigaya inexplicably had the feeling that 'it's better to drag it on', and although he quickly dismissed the idea, he also realized that he might not really hate getting along with Sakura Airi.

It’s really strange, have I become weak without realizing it?

Hikigaya began to reflect deeply in his heart. He could not accept that he, who had always proudly regarded himself as a Lone Ranger, actually had the idea of ​​betraying the Lone Ranger.

This is too bad.

Next, Hikigaya went to the deepest part of the forest alone to explore.

Relying on his extraordinary memory, when he was looking at the island on the boat, he had almost memorized the island's environment in his mind.

Although it is impossible to remember everything completely, I have managed to retain some impressions of the general areas and forest roads.

That's why he kept moving in one direction after leaving the camp, because he was sure that he would find what he wanted to see by following this path.

Sure enough, after walking forward for a few minutes, Hikigaya found that the dense jungle suddenly disappeared, and a very empty space appeared in front of him.

This is a cultivated cliff with many scattered caves. The caves themselves seem to be naturally formed, but a closer look reveals that the environment in the caves has been reinforced and should have undergone some post-natal processing.

If Hikigaya's guess is correct, the base that Class A is targeting should be here.

So he had no intention of getting closer, and just squatted quietly in the grass, staring in the direction of the cave.

As if to verify his point, students from Class A soon came out of the cave one after another and carefully checked their surroundings.

Hikigaya knew that now was a time to test his patience, so he didn't make any unnecessary movements and just squatted in the bushes for half an hour, even his legs felt numb from standing.

Finally, Kōhei Katsuragi walked out of the cave, holding something that looked like a card in his hand.

Hikigaya's pupils shrank slightly when he saw this, but his breathing became calmer.

"As long as there is a cave of this size, the two tents will be enough, Katsuragi-kun." Behind Katsuragi Kohei, Totsuka Yahiko followed out with great interest, "We are so lucky that we can occupy the base so quickly."

"Luck? This is not luck." Katsuragi Kōhei shook his head. "I had a clue about the cave before I landed, which means we will find it. Also, be careful about your words and actions. No one knows if someone will eavesdrop. As a leader, I have the responsibility to supervise you. Don't make any mistakes."

"S-Sorry." Totsuka Yahiko nodded awkwardly, "But, Katsuragi, you said you had a clue before landing, what does that mean?"

"Before the ship arrived at the dock, it somehow circled the outer edge of the island as if taking a long detour. That should be the school's action to give students a hint. Since we can see the path to clear the forest from the deck of the ship, all we have to do is take the shortest route from the dock to the destination."

"I see!"

Totsuka Yahiko nodded in shock, "I didn't feel that at all... Katsuragi-san, you saw through the school's intentions and knew there was a cave here. You are really worthy of me!"

"The broadcast at the time already said it so deliberately, it's not a big deal." Katsuragi Kōhei shook his head, "We are going to the next location, Yahiko. There are about two more roads visible from the ship, and those places should also have facilities and other things."

"Okay! Hehe, now Sakayanagi and those Sakayanagi people should be speechless and admit defeat!" Totsuka Yahiko said excitedly, "And that dead-eyed guy from Class D is so arrogant after joining the student council. Sooner or later, he will realize the gap between A and D."

"Stop talking. Anger and jealousy can blind people's eyes."

Kōhei Katsuragi shook his head slowly. He was obviously an upright man and did not have the same idea as Yahiko Totsuka to follow the trend.

However, the fact that he could say this showed that he still had indelible anger and jealousy in his heart, but he just ignored it on the surface.

Witnessing all this happening, Hikigaya fell into deep thought.

Kōhei Katsuragi's character was just as he expected, without too many flaws.

However, Totsuka Awayahiko, who was beside Katsuragi, was completely useless.

I totally don't understand why Katsuragi would choose such a fool with so many flaws as his deputy.

Is this what they call great wisdom appearing foolish?

I can't tell at all...

It can be said that just after watching Yahiko Totsuka's performance, Hikigaya has already come up with countless ways to defeat Class A in his mind.

Of course, he came here just to test Class A and naturally had no intention of taking direct action.

He just watched Katsuragi Kōhei and Totsuka Yahiko leave silently, and wanted to leave at that moment, but he didn't expect to hear bursts of noises suddenly coming from the bushes beside him.

Before he could react, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's figure suddenly emerged from the bushes, and he stared at the departure of Class A with an extremely cold look, then turned and left.

"That rascal……"

Hikigaya didn't expect that Ayanokouji was also targeting Class A like him, and finally realized what was going on with the abnormality after the other party got on the ship.

But he couldn't understand the other party's reason at all.

Why did the other party want to target Class A? Or, was it really Class A that the other party wanted to target? Was there any other target?

And that extremely cold, corpse-like expression on his face just now, is that the true face of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?